The past few months have been busy when it comes to superhero movies. While Avengers: Endgame and Shazam! are safely in our rearview mirror, there are plenty of films on the horizon that fans are looking forward to. Not only is Spider-Man: Far From Home due out in a few weeks, but Warner Bros.’ standalone Joker will be hitting the big screen pretty soon, too.
While director Todd Phillips’ take on the maniacal clown has been largely kept under wraps, a few tidbits of info have made their way to the internet. Late in May, we reported on a rumor of the film’s rather controversial twist, and now, per ComicBookMovie.com, it seems Joker‘s plot may have also leaked. It’s best to check their report for the full details, but we’ve compiled a few of the key points for your reading pleasure below.
Be warned, spoilers lie ahead:
- It’s fairly well known that Joker will be set in Gotham City, but it seems the film takes place in 1981. As a psychological thriller, the setting might not have as large of an impact on the plot as a whole (compared to a sci-fi or action flick), but it’ll be interesting to see a less hi-tech version of Gotham, unlike Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.
- Arthur Fleck/The Joker (Joaquin Phoenix) is a no-name clown who works for a talent booking agency and he’ll reportedly have a social worker who keeps a close watch on him (as a result of his serious mental issues). As seen in the film’s trailer, Arthur also serves as a caretaker for his ailing mother, who once worked as a housekeeper for the Waynes.
- Speaking of the city’s most prolific family, Thomas Wayne is running for mayor, and it seems he’s been ignoring his former employee, who’s tried to reach out to him.
- After Arthur loses his job, he’ll finally snap and kill three Wall Street elites, which eventually inspires a resistance against Gotham’s elite, driving a wedge between the rich and the poor.
- While we previously reported on the rumor that Bruce Wayne and Arthur are half-brothers, it seems this particular twist might not play out exactly as we’ve heard it will. Apparently, though Arthur’s mom was obsessed with Thomas, she never had a kid with him. It’s also said that Fleck was abused by his mother’s boyfriend as a child. And once he finds out that she was complicit, he exacts his revenge on her.
- There’ll be an interesting spin on how Thomas and Martha are murdered, as it won’t be what we’ve come to know from previous Batman stories.
- The movie ends with Arthur having completely lost his mind and locked away in Arkham Asylum for murdering a key character.
Regardless of whether or not all of this ends up making the final cut, it seems that we’re in for a pretty wild and unexpected film. And luckily, we won’t have to wait too long to see how things turn out, as Joker is set to hit theaters on October 4th.